East Is East: Tasks for the film

East Is East is a 1999 British comedy-drama film. It is set in Salford, Lancashire in 1971. The family is of mixed-ethnicity. The father of the house is George, from Pakistan. The mother is Ella, who is English.

George expects his family to follow Pakistani ways, but his children, who were born and grew up in Britain, see themselves as British. They reject Pakistani customs of dress, food, religion and way of life. This leads to tension and conflicts in the family. In the family are sons Nazir, Abdul, Tariq, Saleem, Maneer, Sajid, and daughter Meenah.

TASKS

TalkingAfter watching the film, choose at least two of these tasks to discuss.

Choose two of the children in the family. What are they like? Discuss their appearance and their personality. Do they change during the film? How?

Which is your favourite episode in the film? Imagine you are describing it to someone who hasn’t seen the film and tell why you like it so much.

Why does George get so frustrated with his family in the film? Do you think he has good reasons to get so angry?

Do you think Ella handles the situation with George well? Do you think she should have behaved any differently?

What do you think of the end of the film? Do you think it ends well, or would you have liked a different ending?

Writing

Read in your textbook about 5-paragraph essays (Writing Course 3). Now plan and write a 5-paragraph essay about East Is East.Your essay topic is:“It is possible to learn a lot about the problems immigrant families in the UK meet from the film East Is East.” Discuss this statement and say whether you agree or disagree with it.